About Dominique

@WindWalker wrote: Strangely, my "very active minutes"  clocks in at only 4 mins!  but I was 20" on the eliptical + 20" of fast walking. Elliptical is not the kind of step-based activity for which you would get very active minutes. See:   https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/1020095-what-are-%22very-active-minutes%22-   As to "fast" walking, it depends on how fast it is. For instance, I need at least 6.8-6.9 km/h (4.2-4.3 mph) in order to consistently get VAMs. The threshold may be higher or lower for you. I'm surprised you're getting VAMs more easily at the beach, as it's more difficult to walk fast on soft sand. ... View more

Did you set yourself as lean (as opposed to regular)?     If you are competing in bodybuilding, fitness etc., a better/more versatile/more reliable (and also significantly more expensive) product for you might be this:   http://www.amazon.com/BodyMetrix-Personal-Ultrasound-Body-Composition/dp/B006C3T68G/ ... View more

@Jim_M wrote: I think that the data export is something that can be done if you pay for a Prime membership. Actually, you can download the raw data even without a Premium membership:   http://quantifiedself.com/2013/02/how-to-download-fitbit-data-using-google-spreadsheets/   However, it's only daily data and @TGH appears to be interested in more detailed, intra-day data. ... View more

@TGH wrote: I am a premium member but it seems only to export daily stats - unless i'm missing something? I don't believe intra-day (eg. minute-by-minute) data is available for download, even if you are a Premium member. ... View more

@123sanbo wrote: Wow, a treadmill desk, I should tell my hubby about this. He sits at a desk virtually all day. Here are a couple of links for him to read:   http://www.npr.org/2011/04/25/135575490/sitting-all-day-worse-for-you-than-you-might-think http://www.precisionnutrition.com/sitting-standing-walking-work ... View more

It would seem to me your "problem" isn't so much how much you eat, but what you eat. You would need to eat more proteins and less fat (or at least switch from "bad" fats to good ones). You would also need to do strength training, so as to gain lean mass (muscle). Given your current weight and the way you look (on your profile's photo), your goal could in fact be to gain weight, but lower your body fat %.   Have you had your body fat % determined? Do you have a Fitbit Aria? I'm in a situation where I want to increase my lean mass and lower my body fat, and I found the Aria useful for that. Some people report wide fluctuations in body fat measurements with their Aria, but I've found it to give very consistent measurements. I have no idea how accurate they are in absolute terms (I have nothing to compare them against), but they are definitely consistent and seem to match changes made in my diet and workouts (been increasing proteins and strength training lately, and that has started to show on the Aria). ... View more

You cannot compare steps taken in the water to those taken on the ground. You'd want to log calories burned during that activity. You can do so as explained here:   https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/413311-how-do-i-log-or-record-an-activity-   A waterproof heart rate monitor such as those used by triathlonists would probably be the best way to determine the calories you burned in the water. If this is not an option for you, search the internet for typical energy expenditure when performing that kind of activity. ... View more

Regarding weight, have a look at your BMI (it's calculated for you in your Dashboard). The "normal" range is 18.5 to 24.9:   http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/risk.htm   Note what they say if you are very athletic etc. Though not directly related to weight, waist circumference (one of the body measurements you can track in your Fitbit account) is also important.   As to body fat, here is the reference table you can find in your Dashboard:   It's not obvious to find it: there's a link labeled See guidelines for body fat when you edit your body fat % goal.     ... View more

You need to log your workout as an activity:   https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/413311-how-do-i-log-or-record-an-activity-     ... View more

You don't exactly provide an awful lot of information about the reasons why you should be losing weight. All we know is you got yourself a Fitbit tracker, which is of course a step in the right direction. How long have you been using it? Have you reached the daily/weekly goals (steps, calories burned, active minutes etc.) assigned by it? Do you use Fitbit to track the food you eat? Have you changed your eating habits? Etc. In other words: what steps have you taken that should have led to a weight loss? ... View more

If your joints (knees) are OK with it, sure! You'll have to manually log it, as Fitbit is not very good at tracking this kind of non-step-based activity, but you're probably aware of it if you have been doing it for a couple of weeks already. ... View more

@fougamou wrote: Fitbit gives me "miles" credit for this. For Fitbit, "miles" aren't a distance measured from A to B. They are the result of the multiplication number of steps x stride length. Fitbit knows how to count your steps even if you jog in place. It will either use the default stride  length for your height, or the one entered by you in your settings. ... View more

Here are recommandations for two different age groups:   18-64: http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/adults.html 65-  : http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/olderadults.html ... View more

@Mary wrote: No need to run when you can do incline walking!   However, my understanding is Fitbit won't give you credit (in terms of calories burned and VAM's earned) for the extra effort caused by incline walking. ... View more

@Auden wrote: Is there anything I can do to correct it? It's as @Jim_M said, and the only way to fix it is to enter your brisk walking stride length in the field for your running stride. This means you will be "short-changed" (in terms of distances and calories) if/when you are running, unless you make the necessary change to your settings and sync with your tracker.   Note that the overestimation of your distances will also lead to an overestimation of calories burned and VAM's earned. ... View more

@abb123 wrote: The body fat % measurement is completely bogus, I see fluctuations of 7-10% daily.  While I didn't expect it to give me an accurate measurement, I was hoping for consistency. FWIW, I've never seen that kind of fluctuations even during the entire 7 months I've owned my Aria. In my case, fluctuation over a 2-3 week period is about 2% at most. You can see my measurement history from Jan-9 to Jan-25 in this post.   I have no idea how accurate the Aria's body fat % measurements are in absolute terms (I have nothing to compare them against), but I can't blame it for lack of consistency. ... View more

@Ali wrote: I would imagine people that are getting 50,000 steps or more are long distance runners. Actually, I believe many people who get that kind of daily step counts have a treadmill desk. You would have to run a marathon to get 50,000 steps, and few long distance runners run the equivalent of a marathon every day. ... View more

Which Fitbit tracker are you using? I'm surprised you would get an accurate step count by using it on your ankle, which isn't the recommended way to wear any Fitbit AFAIK. How do you know the data reported by your treadmill is accurate in the first place? Maybe by wearing your Fitbit in a non-recommended way, you just matched the inaccuracy of your treadmill... ... View more

Treadmill: yes. Elliptical: no (or at least not as you would perceive them).   Also note any incline used on your treadmill won't be taken into consideration when counting calories. ... View more

It should be regular. When fast walking (like 4.2 mph or more), Fitbit will be using your running stride. If you both power walk and run, you will never get distances (and calories) right for both, at least in my experience. ... View more

I think this is what it is: a fad, or possibly a scam. No one will lose tens of pounds by solely eating green coffee beans (or any other miracle food or pills, for that matter). ... View more

I would say: start wearing your Fitbit for a couple of days being your regular inactive self. This will tell you how much of a couch potato you currently are. Then, set yourself a realistic step goal to begin with: if the Fitbit standard goal of 10,000 daily steps / 70,000 weekly steps is too high for you, lower it. You can always increase it after a couple of weeks. Better start slow and increase progressively than start too fast and injur yourself and/or lose motivation.   ... View more

In addition to what @gerrymcd said, you may also want to log those non-step-based activities as explained here:   https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/413311-how-do-i-log-or-record-an-activity- ... View more

The following link is about supplements in general, but I found it useful:   http://www.precisionnutrition.com/fat-loss-course-for-women-day-4     ... View more

@Cybertekkno wrote: Did you set your stride length in your Fitbit settings? If not, then your Fitbit may not be correctly counting your steps. Actually,. I believe your stride length affects distances (and possibly calories + VAM's), not your steps. Your steps are what they are, after all your Fitbit is a pedometer. They are mostly affected by the location of your Fitbit, which should be worn where and as intended. For instance, you would get an incorrect step count if you wore a Fitbit One on your wrist or your ankle (it is intended to be worn against your torso or on your waist). ... View more

@sunkizzed wrote: sorry runkeeper tells me 6 miles and fitbit tells me 4 sometimes 4.5. i would think runkeeper is more accurate as it is gps Yes, distances reported by Runkeeper aren't necessarily perfectly accurate, but they are definitely more accurate than what Fitbit reports. Distances per Fitbit are number of steps x average stride length. ... View more

6 miles is 9.65 km. 10,000 steps would imply an average stride length of 96.5 cm, almost 1 meter. If your Flex reports even less than 10,000 steps on such a distance, the average stride would be even longer than that. Even when taking into account your activity is a mix of walking and running, you would have to be extremely tall in order for your stride to be that long. It therefore looks like your Flex doesn't count steps properly.   I'm not sure setting your stride lengths (there are two, one for walking, one for running) would fix the step problem. You may want to consider the One (worn on your waist or against your torso) instead of the Flex. It's definitely reliable with steps. In fact, I've always wondered how wrist-mounted trackers (whether from Fitbit or from competitors) are able to reliably count steps at all.   One thing you may want to consider is that distances reported by Runkeeper aren't necessarily accurate either. They rely on your phone's GPS, which is not always dependable. Your best bet would be to use a 400 meter athletics track. I bought myself a cheap GPS watch (Soleus) after I noticed the GPS on my phone was not very reliable.   ... View more

@Boneca49 wrote: I am having problems with my fitbit, it doesn't read the calories or distance I worked on the treadmill.  Today I was on the treadmill for 40 minutes, according with my workout summary, I walked 2.9 miles, and burt 650 and my fitbit shows that I have walked 1.36 miles and have been very active for 9 minutes. Who said you walked 2.9 miles and burned 650 calories? Your treadmill?   2.9 miles in 40 minutes is 4.35 mph or 7 km/h. It's brisk walking for which you should have gotten more than 9 VAM's. 1.36 miles in 40 minutes is only 2 mph or 3.3 m/h. It's a very leisurely walking pace. You should be able to tell which matched what you really did.   How many steps did you get from your 40 minute walk, as per Fitbit? Fitbit trackers are pedometers, ie. they excel at counting steps. Distance is an approximation, since it's number of steps x stride length.   And what Fitbit model do you have, btw? ... View more

@gerrymcd wrote: There is an option to make your fitbit more 'sensitive' to movement.  My understanding is this option only affects sleep tracking, not tracking of your daily activities. ... View more

@austinartgirl wrote: Lately I've been bringing home cartons of fresh raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries. How do you get these fresh in January?! Do they grow in greenhouses? Or are they imported from the Southern hemisphere? ... View more

@SRosgen wrote: I'm thinking of going back to the UP just for sleep tracking because the Fitbit's data is so ridiculous. I can either choose between showing that I slept solidly even when I know I was up in the night; or showing that I hardly slept at all, even though I wake up totally refreshed after spending 8+ hours fin bed. It would be interesting if you could post two graphs of your sleep side-by-side: one obtained with the Fitbit (which model are you using, btw?) and one with the UP. ... View more

@Jabrat wrote: I get up at 4:00 take care of the group and walk two hours and 10 minutes That's truly impressive. No wonder you shed 40 pounds! Respect! ... View more

@RicoFitness wrote: Lol the problem is not my weight, its how it's proportioned. I have no curves, small boobs, so the unwanted fat is located in my tummy area. Small boobs are fine, not everyone likes siliconed bimbos. Besides, you will see as you get older women with smaller boobs are less exposed to the pitiless law of gravity   However, having had a look at your profile, I'm surprised someone your age doesn't average a higher daily step count. Even if you go to the gym and perform activities that don't yield that many steps, you should get more steps from your normal daily life. You had a few very good days earlier this month, but also quite many around 3000 steps, which is way too low. Get moving! Create a routine that will let you achieve a more regular step count; it doesn't have to be extremely high, but it should consistently be higher than 5000. ... View more

@Kapalua wrote: Dominique, I give you a lot of credit. You prove it can be done! It may very well have been the coldest day of the winter! Temperatures today were up to -5°C (+23°F😞     Where I am, I can really work out in any weather, it's just a question of having the right gear. It's much easier to work out in extremely cold and dry conditions than if it is extremely hot and humid. ... View more

@Jabrat wrote: I have a desk job and am a legal secretary - I walk the 20,000 steps early in the morning Gee, 20,000 steps before going to work! At what time do you wake up and how long does it take you to complete your 20,000 steps? ... View more

@Zee wrote: It's always been a problem for me, the more water I drink the worse it gets. I have always consumed an enormous amount of water each day. Actually I am accustomed to it. 😩 Drinking water is good. Most people don't drink enough of it. Maybe you should reduce the amount you drink in the evening, so as not to have to wake up too many times during the night. ... View more